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Registrar obtains further convictions for reporting breaches

The Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, Mr Anthony Beven, has today released his latest report on action taken against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations that have failed to meet their reporting obligations.

All corporations registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act) must lodge an annual report with the Registrar.

Since the Registrar’s previous media release on 28 February 2014, a further twenty corporations have been before the courts for failing to lodge their annual reports with the Registrar.

Seven corporations that failed to lodge their 2011–12 annual returns were convicted between 7 March 2014 and 25 March 2015. The largest single fine in this latest round of convictions was $11,000. This brings the total number of corporations convicted in the 2011–12 program to 30 corporations with fines totalling close to $77,000.

Another 13 corporations have also been before the courts for failing to lodge their 2012–13 annual returns. Between 8 September 2014 and 16 April 2015 six of the 13 corporations were convicted with fines totalling $9,100.

‘Reporting compliance remains essential to good governance. You cannot have one without the other. More than 96 per cent of corporations do the right thing and it is only a small number of corporations who fail in their reporting obligations,’ Mr Beven said.

The Registrar will shortly commence the prosecutions program for those corporations who have not lodged their 2013–14 annual returns. Currently 96 per cent of corporations have met their 2013–14 reporting obligations. Annual returns for the 2013–14 financial year were due on 31 December 2014.

‘I urge those corporations who have not lodged their latest annual returns to do so immediately,’ Mr Beven said.

The matters were prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

Background

See the attachment for more details: Summary of regulatory prosecutions for failure to lodge 2011–12 and 2012–13 annual returns. Also refer to the Registrar’s media release of 28 February 2014 (ORIC MR1314-27). A complete list of all the Registrar’s prosecution outcomes is available at http://oric.gov.au/prosecution-outcomes.